Saturday, February 15, 2014

Red decides he's just as clingy as any Carolina Wren...

Around our house, Red and his buddies usually stay off the hanging suet feeder. Red doesn't like to cling to things like nuthatches, wrens, woodpeckers, and chickadees do. He likes to perch at a table...it's more refined he says, but when snowstorms break out, anything goes...

I was photographing the Carolina Wren on the suet feeder when Red decided he wanted in on the action.

He with the flame red head...and body! It was fun to watch this male Northern Cardinal peck away at the suet. Normally Red stays on a platform feeder or on the ground...or on a perching feeder. In our backyard, I've never seen a cardinal clinging to a vertically hanging suet feeder for a prolonged time (I've seen them try every now and then, and get a bite or two, but only briefly). This fella adapted quickly and came back all afternoon, but none of the other cardinals joined him.

I'm glad one of our Northern Cardinals decided to cling on the suet feeder and eat this high-calorie treat. The snowstorm coming in was moving fast, dumping lots of snow, and the temperatures were falling. The extra calories would help him pack on the fat he would need to get through the night.

I am happy to have serendipitously come across you blog. I love it - both the photography and the artwork. My teenage son is learning to photograph birds and I am working on learning to draw them. We live in southern Virginia and have many kinds in our backyard. I plan to bookmark your blog and check back.

...thank you, everyone! It was so fun to watch this cardinal not behaving like a cardinal. The next day, after it stopped snowing, he never returned to his clinging behavior. .....maybe because a Northern Mockingbird showed up and became a suet tyrant and chased any bird off that got near.

CJ...thank you for stopping by for the first time! Good luck drawing the birds. Once you start, you never stop! I did a lot of birding with my son, and he would photograph the birds too...he's away at college now!

I was amazed to see how the heavy snow changed bird habits in my area, also. The dark-eyed juncos in my area typically feed on the ground. I was stunned one day to see a junco hovering, hummingbird-style, at a suet cake as he plucked out a few choice bits. He repeated the display several times until, presumably, he exhausted himself.

My Camera and Lenses

I hand hold the camera for all my photos (I used to use a monopod or tripod for distance and macro, but the VR lenses don't seem to require it). I crop the images down in Aperture (I'm a Mac).

The Story Behind "Red and the Peanut"

Red and the Peanut is named after my first bird memory. When I was about six, I was at my Great Aunt Mary's house and she was telling me about Red and the peanut. "Red" was a Northern Cardinal that had trained Aunt Mary to feed it peanuts on demand. Since Aunt Mary's "Red" started it all, what better name could I choose?